Various disassembly devices, such as pullers and pushers, are well known in the prior art. In fact, numerous types of such devices are present in the marketplace.
For example, pullers of the prior art have a plurality of engaging or attaching members (e.g., jaws) which, when the puller is in place for operational use, grip a workpiece at its circumference. In order to perform the pulling operation, a centrally disposed threaded member of the puller, which is mounted in a threaded bore centrally disposed with respect to the engaging/attaching members and connected thereto by cross members, is rotated in a clockwise direction so as to cause a distal end of the threaded member to contact and push a central portion of the workpiece assembly while the engaging/attaching members of the puller are exerting a pulling force on the outer circumference of the assembly. As a result, the workpiece is disassembled.
A problem with conventional pullers and other similar devices resides in the fact that, in order to carry out the disassembly operation, a substantial rotating force must be applied, via a hex wrench or other similar tool, to the device (e.g., the centrally disposed threaded member of a puller). As a result, a turning or rotating force is applied to the disassembly device as a whole, and this tends to destabilize the engaging/attaching members as they attempt to grip the workpiece at its outer circumference.
The following patents are considered to be representative of the prior art relative to pullers and generally related devices: U.S. Pat. Nos. 729,508; 1,352,990; 2,024,891; 2,272,636; 2,589,075; 3,986,242; 4,781,086; 5,138,917; and 5,226,208. None of the aforementioned patents provides a solution to the above-described problem.
Therefore, there is a need in the prior art for the development of a method or device for stabilizing a disassembly device during use. More particularly, there is a need in the prior art for the development of a method or device which will prevent the disassembly device from becoming destabilized due to the production of undesirable rotating or turning forces during the disassembly operation.